An Evening In New Haven
by k-a-dg
Summary: Tumblr roleplaying thread written in 2012. Paragraphs by Esmeralda written by Tumblr user dancing-gypsy. The characters of Esmeralda & Lady are completely owned by the Walt Disney Company.


Esmeralda had saved up enough coins and wanted to get away from Paris for awhile. This would be her first time away. There was a carriage near the cathedral waiting for her. She jumped into the carriage and rode to New Haven. As soon as she arrived, she paid the driver and walked deep into the village. New Haven looked beautiful and she knew that she wouldn't have anyone to fear. From a distance, she could see an adorable dog without an owner. She walked towards her and kneeled down. "Hi there, girl. Where's your owner?" she asked, while looking around for the owner.

Lady had taken a walk through town alone, just wandering around. When she passed the TV store, all the TVs on display in the window were showing a dog show. She had time to spare and was intrigued by this, so she sat down in front of the store and watched carefully. When the poodle was being displayed, a young woman came up to her, talking kindly. As Lady looked at her, she could tell she wasn't from around her. She dressed differently and looked differently than everyone else, and she didn't speak the same way either. When spoken to, Lady replied quietly, "Hello, I'm here by myself. My owners are at home." She smiled.

Esmeralda took a step back and was in shock when the dog spoke. She didn't think animals could talk and especially knew her goat, Djali, couldn't talk. "Y-you can talk?" she said, while trying to compose herself. While waiting for her answer, Esmeralda stroke the dog's back and answered, "Is it safe for you to be here by yourself?"

Lady sighed, almost bored by the girl's reaction. She'd become very used to humans gasping and being shocked when she spoke to them. "Yes," she replied with a quiet giggle. "But don't tell anybody, okay?" she whispered just loud enough for the girl to hear. She didn't need the whole town knowing she could talk. "And yes, it's very safe here. I come here all the time." As she finished speaking, two of Jim Dear's friends walked by and scruffed her head, saying "Hey girl! How's your daddy doing?" and continued to walk away.

Esmeralda nodded, "I promise, I won't tell anyone." She watched the strangers talk to the dog and walk away. "Wow, you seem to be popular," she giggled. "I'm Esmeralda, by the way," she said, giving her a smile. The music from the town caught Esmeralda's attention. "Do you know any places around here that you'd like to go to?" She wanted to see all of New Haven.

Lady blushed and shrugged, saying, "Oh, no, I wouldn't say popular, it's just a small town." She half-smiled at Esmeralda. "That's a very unique and pretty name," she complimented. "I like it." She smiled as she looked around at all the shops. "Well, there's an Italian restaurant that way, and a junkyard that way, and all these small shops here…"

"Thank you," Esmeralda smiled at her. "What's your name?" At the mention of an Italian restaurant, her stomach started growling. "How about we get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry." She paused. "Wait, are dogs even allowed in restaurants? If not, I'm sure there is a food cart somewhere around here."

"Oh, I'm Lady!" Lady exclaimed, remembering that she forgot to tell Esmeralda. "That sounds good, and well," she smiled slyly, "I have… connections. Dogs aren't allowed in restaurants, but you'll see." She grinned and led the way to Joe's.

"What a pretty name," Esmeralda smiled. "Oh? Alright, let's go, then." She walked with Lady towards the restaurant. "I hope we're not eating anywhere that's expensive? I simply can't afford that," she stated, biting her lip.

Lady giggled, "Thank you Esmeralda. You as well." She smiled and noticed her worried expression. "Oh no, as long as you're with me, we won't have to pay anything at all." She grinned and saw the restaurant. Leading the way around to the back entrance, Lady barked happily and loudly, and soon Joe was looking out the back door at her.

"You're very welcome, and thank you," Esmeralda smiled. "Oh, good." Her walk came to a halt when Lady barked. She noticed a tall man staring at Lady as he stepped outside. "Uh… I assume you know this man?"

Instead of speaking, Lady smiled up at her and nodded. She then looked back at Joe, who asked if she wanted spaghetti. After she jumped and barked excitedly, Joe chuckled and soon brought it out for them, as well as an extra plate.

Esmeralda sat down at a table next to Lady with a plate full of spaghetti sitting in front of them. She thanked Joe for the delicious food. Using her knife and fork, she cut the noodles into smaller pieces and pierced them with her fork, taking a bite. When her mouth was free from food, she looked at Lady. "This is delicious." She continued taking a few more bites.

Lady smiled at her briefly before scooping up another mouthful of spaghetti. After swallowing, she replied, "I'm glad you like it. Joe has the best spaghetti in town. She licked the sauce off her lips and jumped down from the table, walking over to where Joe had left out a saucer of water for her.

While Lady walked to get some water, Esmeralda stayed at the table and finished eating her spaghetti. She picked up her napkin and lightly patted her mouth to get the sauce off. Taking a few sips of water, she quietly waited for Lady to come back.

As Lady walked back over to Esmeralda and leaped back up onto the stool, she couldn't help but notice how well her manners were, yet she didn't seem like she was from around here. "Esmeralda, where are you from?" she asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

Esmeralda stopped drinking her water and glanced over at Lady when she came back. "I'm from the lovely city of Paris." She grinned as she asked her a question. "How do you like living in New Haven?"

"Oh, Paris! I would love to go there one day!" Lady mused excitedly. "New Haven is nice and quiet and calm, my kind of town," she giggled. "Although sometimes it can be a bit boring, it's my home, and I can't imagine living anywhere else." She smiled as she finished the rest of her spaghetti.

"You should come and visit! I'm sure you will love it there. There are lots of wonderful things to see." Esmeralda grinned at the thought of Paris. "From what I've seen, New Haven looks like a lovely place." Taking a few more sips of water, she asked, "What would be your favorite thing about New Haven, if you had to choose one?"

"Hmm," Lady thought, absentmindedly looking up and knitting her brows. "One thing? Oh, I don't know.." She thought for a moment about all the wonderful things about New Haven. "Well," she replied finally, "if I had to pick one thing.. it would probably be Tramp, my husband. Without New Haven, I would have never met him, and I can't imagine how my life would be now if that were the case." She thought about how much she changed and matured by meeting Tramp, and she couldn't forget her darling children, who were her whole world. "But, if I had to pick one aspect of it," she added quickly, "it would be how friendly and kind everyone here is. And Tony's, of course," she giggled and glanced over to the door to the Italian restaurant, just as Tony came back out to clear their plates.

Esmeralda smiled, "Tramp seems like a lovely husband and he's very lucky to have you, I'm sure of it. Do you have any children?" She was very curious to know. At the mentioning of the friendly people, she thought about her experience with the townspeople when arriving here and nodded in agreement. "Yes, from what I've seen, everyone is very lovely." As Tony came by, she stated, "Thank you, Tony. The food was delicious." Esmeralda took one last sip of her water. "What would you like to do now?"

Lady replied, "Yes, I have four!" She smiled up at Tony as he pet her head and mumbled something in Italian, then left. "What about you? Do you have a husband or children?" Lady would be surprised if she didn't. Esmeralda was very pretty. "Well, is there anything you would like to go do or see in particular?"

Esmeralda's eyes widened when Lady mentioned having four children. "Wow, four? They must be quite a handful. What are their names?" She wanted to know more about her lovely children. "I have a boyfriend and his name is Phoebus." She couldn't help but smile every time she mentioned his name. "I've never been here before and I don't really know what there is to see. But I'm happy seeing anything you show me. What are some of your favorite places?"

"Yes, they certainly can be a handful," Lady said seriously. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." She grinned and walked back towards the street towards the center of town. As she walked, she looked up at Esmeralda, noticing her playful smile. "Oh, a boyfriend? Ah, will you two be getting married, you think?" She smiled at her, sensing how much Esmeralda cared for this man. She then looked ahead of her as she waited for her answer. "Well, we could go to the park, or the zoo, or even my little home, if you want," she said, watching for cars and horses as they crossed the street. "Whichever you like. Those are my favorites around here."

Esmeralda laughed. "I couldn't imagine, but I'm sure you're a lovely and caring mother to them." She began walking beside Lady and looked down when she asked her a question. "I would love to marry him. Right now, he is fighting in the war and hasn't been home in an awfully long time." She frowned at the thought of it, wanting him to come home safely. "I've never been to the zoo before. We don't have any zoos in Paris and I would love to see the animals." _Maybe I'll even bring something back for Djali._

Lady giggled. "Ah, yes, well, I try!" she said amusingly. She perked up when Esmeralda talked about Phoebus and she felt her heart swell, remembering that feeling she, too, got when she knew she wanted to marry Tramp. "Well, I hope he comes home quickly and safely," she replied softly. "I'm sure he feels the same way."

As the pair reached the entrance to the zoo, Lady hid behind a bush, motioning to Esmeralda to just walk in. Lady had to wait for the signal. Animals weren't allowed in the zoo, but the monkeys came up with a distraction for them every time a dog or cat or other animal wanted to enter. When the guard approached the monkey cage as he paced before the entrance, one of the monkeys would quickly snatch his keys from his belt and run around his cage, making noises and causing the guard to run up to the cage, only focusing on getting back his keys. Then, when the animal got into the zoo, the monkey would simply walk over to the guard and hand him back his keys. No tricks, no funny antics, just a simple return.

Once all this happened, Lady ran into the zoo, flashing the monkeys a wink of thanks as she did. She caught up to Esmeralda and looked behind her. The guard was nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you. I pray every day that he does." Esmeralda said with a small smile. As she walked in, she heard some chaos over by the monkey exhibit and knew Lady was up to something. When Lady stood near her, Esmeralda looked down and laughed. "Nice work." The two walked deeper into the zoo. There were many different kinds of animals all around that she has never seen before. Glancing over to her right, she saw a group of goats and immediately hurried over with Lady. One goat in the corner reminded her of Djali. Admiring the goats eating and sleeping, she looked over at Lady. "Goats are my favorite animals. What's yours?"

Lady grinned slyly. "Thank you. But it wasn't my idea, it was theirs." She nodded back at the monkeys, who waved at them.

Lady watched as Esmeralda suddenly rushed over to the goats. "Hmm," she answered while watching the animals. "Well, dogs, of course, but I also like the monkeys and beavers," she explained. "But I certainly don't like cats or rats." She made a sour face, then looked up at Esmeralda curiously. "Why do you like goats so much?"

"Why don't you like cats or rats?" Esmeralda asked curiously. She was watching the goats move around when Lady asked her a question. "I have a goat by the name of Djali who lives with me back in Paris. He loves to dance and helps me fight off guards."

"A pet goat!" Lady exclaimed with wonder as she looked up at Esmeralda. "Wow, I've never heard of goats being pets before! How interesting!" She looked at the goats briefly, imagining one in a home, and then looked back up at Esmeralda to answer her question. "Well," she started, "there were these two cats, Si and Am, who came to my house a little after Junior was born, and they ruined everything in the house and almost hurt the baby! And then I was blamed for it and had to wear a muzzle. It was dreadful!"

She frowned. "And as for rats, one large one broke into our house one time, when I was tied up outside, and it went to hurt the baby again. But then my husband, who wasn't my husband yet, broke in the window and fought the rat. But he was badly injured. Then, I broke free of my chain outside and also ran up to meet him. The rat hurt me, too, and now I have this scar." She gingerly lifted her front-right leg to show Esmeralda her scar.

Esmeralda replied, "He's not like any other pet. He helps me earn coins and escape from guards. I don't know what I'd do without him." A huge grin spread across her face as she thought of Djali. Esmeralda looked down at Lady to listen to her. Gasping, she said, "What awful creatures for doing that to you! Tramp seems like a brave dog. Why did they want to hurt the baby, anyway?" Esmeralda kneeled next to Lady and, with her palm, took a closer look at Lady's paw. "Wow, you two are crazy fighters. Are you alright?"

"Oh, wow!" Lady said, impressed by her goat. Then, her expression changed as she sighed and said, "I know. It was very frightening! I wish I knew. I don't even like thinking about what they wanted to do to him." She shuddered. "We're both okay now; there hasn't been any more trouble since. And I'd like to keep it that way!" she chuckled.

Esmeralda shook her head. "Well, let's not think about it, alright? Just be careful of the cats and the rats." She took one last glance at the goats and looked back at Lady. "Let's see what other animals are around here."

Lady shrugged her shoulders and sighed, nodding up at Esmeralda in agreement. She followed behind her as she walked through the zoo, admiring the animals.

A few exhibits past the goats were some black bears. Esmeralda knew what black bears were, but she never saw one with her own eyes. Curiously raising an eyebrow, she walked over to the bears. "Have you seen one of these before?" she asked Lady.

Lady looked through the fence at the bears. "Yes, a few times when I've been here. But most of the time they aren't outside. They're a bit intimidating, if you ask me," she said, watching the bears.

Esmeralda placed her hands on top of the fence while gazing at the bears. "Well, they don't look as creepy as Frollo." she said, smirking.

Lady scoffed. "Well, I certainly can't disagree with that," she said, remembering the pain in her side when Judge Frollo had kicked her. She'd encountered the evil man a few weeks ago, and he had absolutely no respect for animals. The cocker spaniel stepped away from the bears and began to wander around, glancing at each exhibit. "Is there any other animal in particular you want to see?" she asked.

Esmeralda had never been to a zoo before and wasn't really sure what animals were around here. She thought back to her earlier conversation with Lady. "Well, you said beavers were one of your favorite animals, right? Why don't we visit the beaver exhibit?" she asked.

"Sounds good!" Lady smiled, remembering her friend. She weaved through the winding path to the beaver exhibit, where Mr. Beaver was pulling a log with Lady's harness. Lady chuckled to herself.

Esmeralda stood right next to Lady and gazed the beaver exhibit. One of the beavers walked right up to the fence and smiled at Lady. "Do you two know each other?" she asked, looking down at Lady.

Lady giggled, looking at the beaver right in the eye. "Ah, a little bit," she chuckled as the beaver winked at her, then scurried away. She knew he wasn't going to speak since Esmeralda was there.

"How did you two meet?" Esmeralda curiously asked. She watched the beaver continue to move the logs around.

"Well," Lady started, "when my owners were away, this mean lady named Aunt Sarah came to watch the baby. She put a muzzle on me and yelled at me and tried to hit me, so I ran away. Tramp found me and brought me here to take off that muzzle over there, and Mr. Beaver here did the trick." She chuckled as Mr. Beaver tugged yet another log across the small river.

Esmeralda gasped when she heard Lady's story. "You poor girl. What an awful woman for mistreating you that way." She brought her attention back to the beaver. "Mr. Beaver seems like a lovely friend." She noticed he'd been pulling logs around for a while and was curious to know what he was doing. "What he is building, anyway?

Lady shrugged. "It's okay, it could've been worse." She directed her attention back to the beaver. "He's very kind," she smiled. "He's building a new home, a dam, I think they call it."

"A dam? Where was his old home?" Esmeralda was a little confused as she watched him build. "Wow, that must be a lot of hard work. He seems to be doing a wonderful job at it."

"Yes, well, that's about _all_ he spends his time doing," Ladysaid. "He makes a new one constantly, because they get eroded," she explained. Suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard the warning bell that the zoo was about to close.

Esmeralda quickly turned around when she heard the warning bell. "It must be time to leave." She looked around and saw a crowd of people still in the zoo. "We'll follow the crowd and no one will notice you." She walked and stayed behind them until they were outside the gates.

Lady followed Esmeralda, staying close at her feet. She tiptoed carefully to avoid the people, and before she knew it, they were out safely. Lady looked up and noticed how dark it had gotten. "Oh my! I didn't even realize the time! I should be getting back to my puppies soon.." she paused.

"Wow, we've must have spent a lot of time in there." Esmeralda felt a little dejected. "I'm sorry for keeping you away from your puppies for so long. I'm sure they miss you."

"Yes, but it was fun!" Lady smiled up at her. "It's not a problem at all! They can manage for a bit by themselves, as long as they're in the house. I had a great time with you tonight, Esmeralda. I'm so glad I met you!" She wagged her tail.

Esmeralda nodded and smiled at her. "Yes, it was! Thank you for distracting me from everything!" She kneeled down next to Lady and gave her a hug. "It was lovely to meet you, too!" She stood back up and gave her one last smile. "Be careful getting home." Waving farewell, she turned away and walked towards the street, where she waited for a carriage to pick her up.

"You're welcome," Lady replied cheerfully as she wrapped a paw around Esmeralda. "I will, you too!" She smiled and waved softly as Esmeralda walked away, then headed back home, excited to tell Tramp and the pups about her new friend.


End file.
